I'm scared for our future.

I was at the library tonight, looking to see what kind of books they have about South Africa. I'm standing at the computer, doing my search, when two guys walk up to the computer next to mine. These guys are probably in their early 20's, but I'm a horrible judge of age and weight, so they could have been in their 50's, I wouldn't know. I hear the guy typing on the keyboard ask the other guy, "How do you spell jail?" The other guy paused, then spelled it. Guy number one repeated it, with a hint of "are you sure" in his voice. I thought, maybe he is retarded, so he didn't know how to spell it, we move on. Then, brainyack asked, "How do you spell prison?" Now I'm scared for 2 reasons, first, he can't spell two very easy words for a 20 something year old. Second, why does he keep looking this subject up? I was hoping that he wasn't checking on the number of years of a jail sentence he would get for a library massacre. They mumbled a few things that I couldn't quite make out, but I decided I didn't want to wait around to see if they decided the shooting would be worth the time they would serve. I went to the far corner of the library to find my book and read in silence that comes with the back corner. I didn't hear any gunshots, so I headed to the counter to check out my book. I'm a terrible speller, but not being able to spell two very easy words, makes me wonder if they can read at all.

Pumpkins and Mice

We had another busy weekend with Saturday spent at the pumpkin patch and Sunday at Chuckey Cheese. Here are a few shots of the pumpkin patch:Trouble times three.
One big ass rabbit.

Playing in the corn.
Making corn angels.

Spending time with Aunt Michelle. (We went to Howell's tree farm for this, so they didn't miss-spell the sign)

I think the boys had a good time, although Makiah was very disappointed that we didn't get to ride the tractor and wagon, for another $3.50 a person. It all ready cost us $11.50 for the kids to get into the play area, plus we were buying a few pumpkins, so I didn't want to have to sell a kidney just to be able to afford the afternoon. We had had a ton of rain last week, so I was worried that it would be really muddy, but the parking lot was the only place that had much mud. They had a little maze we went through that was a little muddy in spots, but not too bad. They had a slide that, as you can see, was a little rough on the butt.

We found out that sweat pants make you slide all the way to the end of the slide.
Today was spent at Chuckey Cheese, which is normally one of my least favorite places to go, for several reasons. One, one of the kids is usually sick a day or two after we go. We'll see if that happens this time or not. Two, it is crazy and I feel like I will loose one or more of the kids in the mayhem. Three, it's expensive. The kids can go through tokens like they are nothing and it seems the "prices" for the prizes is going up, so it takes a thousand tickets to get a sucker and it costs $20 to get those tickets. I'd rather drive to Target and buy a whole bag of suckers for a couple of bucks and be done with it, but then that wouldn't be any fun. Luckily, we got away with using the tokens from the party and a few we had left over from the last time we were there, so no money exchanged hands. I've heard many people bash the pizza at Chuckeys house, but I actually like it. I wouldn't order it for carry out, but I will never complain about eating it while I'm there, especially if someone else is buying. Marcy just left to take Makiah to his second birthday party of the day, so he ought to come home on a nice sugar high. Thankfully the parties are indoors, because Iowa is experiencing 60 mph winds and a kid with a big coat could end up in Illinois. Next Thursday is beggars night, which for those of you not in the Des Moines area, is trick or treating night. I grew up in St. Louis, MO and Springfield, VA, and I had never heard of trick or treating on any other night other than Halloween, until I moved to Iowa. They say it's supposed to be safer when they move it off of the actual Halloween night, but I don't buy it for a second, and here's why. If they are concerned about drunk drivers, who the hell is drunk by 8pm and on their way home from a Halloween party?(8pm is as late as you can trick or treat) I'm sure the number of drunk drivers is no higher on Halloween night, at 8pm, than it is any other night. Now, if you were allowed to trick or treat until 10pm, like we did when I was a kid, you would have an argument, but until you provide me with statistics showing a high number at 8pm, I'm against moving the night.

YOU"VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Check this out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081023/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_avatar_murder

I know she wasn't arrested for murder, but arrested for unlawful use of a computer, to kill a fake person in a game? Man, I thought people in the US were over sensitive, this has got to be record. How do you call the police with this complaint? I think I'd change my password and start over, the police aren't needed in this "murder." Lets let them focus on the real ones.

Hunting

So at the meeting I had last Saturday regarding my Africa trip, I heard a few things about the game farm we will be staying at. First off, it's 3000 acres and by the looks of it, rather dry and barren. The most interesting thing I learned, was that there is a price for each of the animals you may want to hunt. I guess I just assumed that you went hunting and shot whatever you found or whatever was in season, like in the US. Not the case. It appears you choose what you want to hunt, per this price list, and then set out to hunt that particular animal. I'm not sure if you get a refund if you don't get the kill, but I'm guessing not. I'll find out for sure when I go, because I'm very curious. Here are a few samples of animals and costs:

Sable (looks like a mink) $15,000
Giraffe $3,500
Zebra $1,000
Ostrich $500
Wildebeest $850
Nyala (looks like a cross between a deer and a yak) $2,500
Jackal $50
Porcupine $50

You can see that the jackal and the porcupine get no respect. I mean, come on, a porcupine can be dangerous, can't it? I know I wouldn't mess with one. I was surprised that you could even hunt some of the animals you can. Wildebeest, sure, their ugly and by the looks of the Discovery videos I've seen, plentiful, but Zebras? I never would have though of hunting, basically, a pony. There are a bunch of other animals on the list, most of which I've never heard of and would have to look up so I could tell you what they were and to be honest, not that interested in writing "some sort of deer" after 20 different animals. I did mean to mention the warthog was $300, which seemed about right, but I'd love to know how they came up with the other prices. The park we stay at doesn't have all of the big 5, which is Cape Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Cheetah, and Rhino (not going to try to spell the whole name). They do have Cape Buffalo, but I don't think you can hunt them there, you'd have to go to a park right next to where we stay. There, you can hunt a lion, which, again, I didn't know you could do. You can also hunt a Cape Buffalo there as well, but I'm not sure about the rest of the 5. There are a bunch of other "fees" for the hunt, but the animal prices interested me the most. I'd like to think that we could do the same thing in the US, here is my suggestion:

Deer $1,000 (because so many people like to hunt them and maybe we could cut some of the budget deficit this way. It would probably just drive the deer population higher than it all ready is, which is way to high in Iowa, so maybe the cost should be adjusted)

Crow $.05 (I know, they have a purpose, but I'm sure a zebra does as well and they shoot them. Plus, I bet there are a shit load more crows than zebras)

Neighbors cat who shits in your kids sandbox. We pay you $50 (nuff said)

I'd say raccoon, skunk or possum, but it appears there is a lot of poaching here in Iowa, because they are all over the road and I'm not sure the population could handle a hunt.

I'm not a hunter, so I'll leave that to those that enjoy that. I will try to find out what it cost to hunt a lion, because that price would interest me the most.

Family update

Marcy just spent the weekend in St. Paul, MN at a women's conference. (I'd call it a men bashing seminar, but seeing as how it's a faith based gathering, maybe it wasn't so bad) She seemed to have a good time and it was a good break for her. I try to do as much with/for the boys as I can, but most still comes down to mom. She is a fantastic mother and keeps the boys schedules, which would be very difficult for me. We missed her while she was gone, but all three boys are still alive and without physical scars, so we should be good. Hopefully my parenting style isn't causing any emotional scars that I will pay for in years to come:)
The boys are all loving school. I watched Makiah show Max how to stop, drop and roll, which he learned at school for fire prevention week. It was pretty cute, although I'm not sure Max grasped why he was being asked to roll on the ground. I heard Makiah explain it, but it seemed to confuse Max a bit. We were wrestling the other night and Makiah did a running knee drop onto my ribs, which are brittle since I'm so old. (Thought I'd beat you all to the punch) Needless to say, I was in a bit of pain, but considering where I normally get a knee, I wasn't complaining. Health wise, we are all doing well, which means somebody will be sick tomorrow. In fact, I can't remember when the last time one of the kids was sick. Of course, I hear there is stuff going around, so it's probably just a matter of time. Mason and Makiah are both in a computer class after school and just finished a science class. They like that kind of stuff and we encourage them to get involved as much as they want in it. Makiah has decided he wants to play soccer again in the spring, so we'll see if that lasts until sign up.
As for me, pretty much the same. I just finished reading my third book by J. Maarten Troost and it was another good one. I think I wrote about his other two, when he lived on small islands in the South Pacific. This book was about China, called "Lost on Planet China." It was really good, he makes me laugh and his books are very informative. If your looking for a fun read, check out his stuff.
The weather in Iowa is up and down, as usual, but the trees are beginning to change, so they are beautiful. We are expecting a lot of rain today and tonight, so I'm sure my lawn mowing days aren't over for the year. I'd love to put that thing away for the year, because it sounds a bit sick and I don't want to mess with it this year. It sounds like how my step father use to drive, like a wave. It's like you hit the gas for a second or two, then let off for a second or two, then hit the gas again and so on. It works, but it's annoying as hell and I'm sure that isn't a good sign about its health. The weed wacker died early in the summer, so I have to borrow a friends all of the time. Again, didn't want to deal with it this year, so I'm probably going to buy an electric one next year and a really long cord and give up on the gas powered ones all together, I've had bad luck with them.
Halloween is just around the corner, and thankfully, Mason has decided to skip the ever so tight Flash costume for a new, much less tight SpongeBob costume. That makes dad happy. I think Makiah can get one more year out of Spiderman, but this HAS to be it. I don't know why they don't want new costumes, but they seem to want to wear the same one until the pants become capri pants or they completely bust out. Lets hope the weather is as good as it was last year and they should bring in a good haul for dad, I mean them.

Who have you met

Marcy and I went to see a show the other night. I don't know if you watch NBC's Last Comic Standing or not, but it's a show I love. After the season is over, the top 5 finishers go out on tour together. They stop in Des Moines every year, but this is the first time I've actually gone to see them, thanks to Marcy who bought us the tickets for my birthday. The show was at Hoyt Sherman Place, which for you out of towners, is a really old house in downtown Des Moines. I don't know what the history of the house is, but it has a nice little theater for shows like this. The comedians were good, especially Louis Ramey and Marcus. There was an intermission where you could go out and meet them and buy their stuff, so Marcy and I walked around to check out this really old house and saw them in the room that had a huge line, to buy beer. Seeing them there, making them accessible to the fans, got me to thinking about the famous people I've met. Some of them are famous in a lot of places, some are famous in small circles and one is WORLD famous. In fact, there was a poll taken some years ago to find the most popular people, ever. The number one, I've never met and hope to put it off a few more years, that is Jesus. The number two person, was Muhammad Ali, who I've met. I see a flash back coming. I was in Washington, DC with a group of high schoolers, I had just graduated, from my church here in Urbandale, Iowa. We happen to be in a mall that was attached to the Marriott, just off of the Mall. A friend had been in the hotel lobby going to the bathroom, when she came back with a slightly perplexed look on her face. She said, and I quote, "There is some famous guy signing autographs in the lobby." I asked who it was, BUT SHE DIDN'T KNOW. She must have been living under a rock, how in the hell do you not know who Ali is in 1986, not that far off of his prime, or at least the peak of his fame? I wasn't in the mood to run all the way to the lobby to find out it was Richard Simmons, who she probably didn't know either, so I asked a few more questions. I asked what he looked like and what people were saying. She said she thought he was a boxer because he was signing a boxing glove. I immediately said "Muhammad Ali?" She said, "Yea, that's it." If a person's eyes can bug out of their skull, mine did. I don't remember the level of my voice, but by the looks of her face, it was quite loud, as I yelled "Give me some paper!" This was worthy of a RUN to the lobby, where who did I see standing there, but Ali himself. I swear I could have soiled myself. My heart was pounding like a jack hammer, Ali for pete's sake. I joined the crowed and stuck my meager piece of notebook paper and pen as close to him as I could. Then, the champ looked at me and asked, "What's your name." THAT"S IT, SHIT MYSELF! I now know what all those girls that were screaming for the Beatles felt like. I'm surprised I even knew my name at that point. I managed to squeak it out and he sign my paper and handed it back to me. I then protected that paper like a mother hippo. (If you know anything about Africa, you know that the hippo is responsible for more deaths and injuries than any other major animal on the continent, do mainly to their over protectiveness of their babies) He then proceeded to show us a magic trick, that this same girl who didn't know who he was, screamed out how he did it. I wanted to smack her. He was gracious enough to sign ALL of our stuff, then show us a magic trick, and she ruins it with the secret. I saw how he did it too, but I'm not going to tell, I'm mean, who wins here? Then I started to think about the other famous people I've met and was wondering who others have met. So here is my list, at least what I decided to put down, now you guys post who you've met.

Muhummad Ali (Boxer, of course)

Evander Holyfield (Boxer)

Michael Moorer (Boxer)

Jacques Cousteau (Oceanographer)

Mr. T (A-Team:)

George Stephenapoulos (now a political analist)

Peaches and Herb (Motown)

Many Washington Redskins from the 2006 team ( a bunch, including Clinton Portis, Rock Cartwright, Joe Gibbs, James Thrash and even owner Daniel Snyder)

A bunch of Christian artists, like Mark Hall from Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, The Afters, John Reuben (OK, that one is just significant to me and Makiah)

Who have you met? You didn't have to have dinner with them or even like them, but who have you spoken to or shook hands with?

Send people over

I've updated my South Africa blog with donation information. Please send anyone you think might be interested to that site. I'm praying I can raise the needed money quickly so I don't have to crunch at the end, but I'll take it any way I can.

Thanks, in advance, for all your help. I hope that together, we can make a difference in some peoples lives!

IT'S A GO!!!!!

My trip to South Africa is a go. Keep an eye on the other blog for updates, ways to donate, or how you can help me get there. Thanks to everyone for their concern for my safety, their support on my decision and their willingness to help. I will continue to try and update everyone on family stuff and hopefully a funny thing or two on this site, but you can guess that I'm going to be a little preoccupied trying to get together the money for the trip. I still have Juarez in Feb. and a trip to CA in January, so maybe I'll do something stupid on one of those to keep you entertained:) You can almost count on it!

So my 40th birthday has come and gone, but the 40 year old jokes continue. I'm not offended though, or even upset, just happy to still be here and hope to be here another 40, God willing. Marcy had a surprise party for me, which was a pleasant surprise. I spent the afternoon watching my Redskins win another road game (on the computer since they don't show good games here in Iowa), then went to a bar with my friend Joe to watch a few more games. Of course, this was so Marcy could clean, decorate and let our friends in before I got home. Thanks baby, it was great. Thanks also to Michelle and Mindy for helping clean and decorate:)
Marcy and I went to see Fireproof, a movie currently out starring Kirk Cameron, if you remember him from Growing Pains. He has since changed his life and is a follower of Christ and made this movie about marriage. If you can get past the bad acting, some cheesy lines and the predictability of the plot, it really is a good movie. Not going to win any awards, but the message is very powerful and the advice is relevant. I would especially recommend it for newly weds, engaged couples or those struggling in their marriage. I'm none of those, but you can always use a refresher course.
Marcy and the boys are all doing well. Makiah's reading has improved a ton, so we are really proud of him. We read with him every night and I can tell you that there are several books that I wouldn't care if I ever saw again. I may have my own book burning in the back yard if I see some of these same books come back. I now know that I don't give a damn if baby bear likes blackberries. Good for him, doesn't need a book written about it for crying out loud.
I promise not to put too much on this site about my possible South Africa trip, I'll leave that to the sister site listed to the right. When I went to watch football with Joe the other day, he did say that he is really interested in going as well, so I'm hopeful he will. We've talked about doing a mission together for a few years now, but his schedule hasn't permitted it. I hoping my friend Chad will go as well (hint, hint Chad). We go to Juarez together every year and I think because we know each other well and have worked together before, we could really be an asset to the building team in Africa. Plus, Chad is into photography, and what better place to take a few pictures than on a photo safari. That is part of the trip, which sounds really cool. The boys want to know if I will get to see a lion? I'm not sure if they want me to see it or try to feed it, and see where the cards fall. I know Chad's heart is to serve, and even though both of our lives have changed due to Juarez, this would probably set a whole new level of humble, for me for sure. Juarez puts my life in the USA in perspective, I'm guessing Africa would only increase that.

New blog

I'm starting a second blog, I've included the link to the right in my "places I go" list. It will hopefully be my next mission, but I have a lot to do to get there.



Check it out:

http://sendmetosouthafrica.blogspot.com/

Be on the look out!

MEXICO CITY - Missing in Mexico: One truck carrying 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a 23-foot (7 meter) inflatable prophylactic.

See full story:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_fe_st/lt_odd_mexico_missing_condom_mobile;_ylt=Aoris9ZKdhsYQfyeVcSM8SMuQE4F

Don't let this go unsolved, keep your eyes open.